United States – Back to the future

Chase Paymentech is trying to drag the US point-of-sale market into the 21st century, equipping merchants with so-called 'future proof' terminals that accept contactless and EMV chip card payments.

The 'new' terminal - Ingenico's iCT250, which was first launched in Europe way back in August 2009 - "helps merchants prepare for the future", says the JP Morgan unit. It accepts old-fashioned mag-stripe cards as well as EMV-enabled plastic and contactless cards and mobile phones.

Despite finding favour in most of the rest of the developing world thanks to its superior security, EMV is still virtually unheard of in the US, with just five per cent of terminals currently compatible, according to the Nilson Report.

However, this is set to change after Visa, MasterCard and Discover all set out timetables to finally force the switch over the next few years, meaning that merchants will need to upgrade their terminals.